Best budget buys from CHOICE’s laundry detergent review

One brand has taken out the top three spots in CHOICE’s laundry detergent review for 2024, while eight bargain options have been recommended as “best buys”.
The consumer advocate tested more than 90 products on a range of stains in both front and top loaders to find out which ones actually deliver on cleaning our clothes.
Omo laundry detergents were a strong performer in the review with the highest rankings in the front loader detergents, and second in the top loader category.
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For shoppers looking for a budget option, CHOICE has filtered its results into a best buys category with detergents that give good value for money.
In terms of how they performed against stains, the best buys detergents have to be rated at least 70 per cent for front loaders and at least 60 per cent for top loaders, and cost less than 30 cents per wash.
Aldi laundrite laundry detergent laundry powder for front loader topped the best buy list, scoring 79 per cent when tested and costing just 11 cents a wash.
Second in the best buys list was Coles tropical paradise concentrate laundry powder front loader, which scored 76 per cent and costs 25 cents per wash.
Third, but only just, is Woolworths clean laundry powder fresh getaway front loader, with a score of 75 per cent and costs 13 cents a wash.
Those with top loaders can try Aldi laundrite laundry powder top loader, which got a rating of 69 per cent in CHOICE’s test and costs 17 cents a wash.
The other best buys for top loaders were Coles lemon fresh laundry powder top loader, with a score of 62 per cent and costing 23 cents a wash, and Coles tropical paradise concentrate laundry powder top loader, which rated 60 per cent in the test and cost 25 cents.
The reason front loader detergents rate better in the CHOICE test is because those appliances give a better clean because of they way the machine washes your garments.
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While CHOICE has listed the cost of cents per wash, Steen told 9Honey Living you can make your detergent even more cost effective by experimenting with the dose you need, because you don’t need as much as you probably think.
”A lot of them require a full dose for a full load, but hardly anyone uses a full load. So if you look at a load of clothes on average, it’s around about 3.5kg to 4kg per load, even though people think that they’re filling it to full,” he said.
“So experiment dose of the detergent and you can make it last twice as long, as long as you’re happy with the outcome and that will depend on: do you actually have dirty clothes?
“As someone who works behind a desk, I don’t particularly have dirty clothes every day. There’s lots of things that I do that just don’t require a full dose, or even a half dose of detergent, and that’s a really good way to make your detergent last for longer, which means you’re spending much less because some [laundry detergents] can be quite expensive. It means you’re spending a lot less over the year.”
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Another way to find the best value for money laundry detergent for your needs is to use CHOICE’s laundry detergent reviews to find out what product performs best for the type of stain you typically deal with.
All products in the review were tested against common stains like makeup, grass, chocolate ice-cream, blood, baby food, sweat, grass, mud, olive oil and tomato.
So if your job, hobby or family situation leaves you with one of those specific stains, you can compare the results to find out the most effective product for your needs.
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